ORANGETOWN SWITCHES TOWN MEETINGS TO THURSDAY NIGHTS

In a surprise move at an otherwise routine annual reorganization meeting the Orangetown Town Board voted unanimously Tuesday to switch the nights of its meetings to Thursdays for the remainder of 2012.

For more than five decades, the board had met on Monday evenings four nights a month, with the first and third weeks reserved for workshop meetings and the second and fourth Mondays for business meetings. Two years ago, for reasons that were never fully disclosed, the board split on changing the meeting night to Tuesdays, which it did in 2010 and 2011.

Last week, at a somewhat confusing and unscripted session, the board closed the year with yet another discussion on when to meet during 2012. Some members of the council favored keeping them on Tuesdays, others wanted to revert to Monday, with no clear majority evident for either evening.

The packed audience of more than 200 residents appeared surprised at this Tuesday’s annual reorganization meeting when the board suddenly approved a move to Thursdays, which had never previously been discussed, at least in public. The motion, made by Republican Thomas Diviny and seconded by fellow Republican Denis Troy, was approved unanimously by the newly installed board, which the GOP controls with a 4-1 majority.

(Read the full article in this week’s edition of the Rockland County Times)